Mustang Saleen - Roadtest

A Thundering, Plundering, Viper-Eating Monstrosity

Nor will they ready you for the Saleen's race-car-spec handling. With firm spring rates balanced by specially nitrogen-charged dampers, the S351 R has a stiff-legged ride. Stiff, but not often abusive. Snap it into a corner, and the S351 R turns in progressively, staying slot-car flat all the while. The Saleen's chassis is balanced toward a hint of understeer, which can be teased away with the always accessible power. Squeeze on more, and you can transition to glorious tire-burning, teen-cheering oversteer.

Our slalom testing confirmed the Saleen's remarkably good transient handling-and sheer speed-with a best run of 69.7 mph. If not for having to test at a track with less grip than our usual venue, it likely would have broken into the 70-mph range. The same slippery, weathered pavement netted a mediocre 0.89 lateral g reading on the skidpad and an unremarkable 127-foot stop from 60 mph. With better test conditions, we expect the S351 R's figures would improve substantially.The same goes for acceleration numbers: Tippy-toeing off the line, we were able to get the Saleen down to 5.2 seconds 0-60 mph-only a bit better than the last '96 Mustang Cobra (5.5 seconds) we tested at another facility, and slower than our recent 5.0-second run in a Viper also tested elsewhere. The Saleen's quarter-mile elapsed time was 13.4 seconds-0.2 second behind the Viper, but almost a second ahead of the Cobra.

The most telling figure is the Saleen's terminal speed, which is relatively unaffected by low grip off the line. At 119.3 mph, the S351 R is the fastest production street car (not a tuner special) Motor Trend has ever tested in the quarter mile, outrunning even the Saleen SR prototype we drove last year. At the quarter-mile mark, the Saleen pulls away smartly from the 113.4-mph Viper, and accelerates away from the Mustang Cobra at a rate of 17.6 mph-like Carl Lewis at a full run.That's teleportation. That's the Saleen S351 R.